RF Innovation and the

Transition to 5G Wireless
Technology

WHITEPAPER
Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 What is the Vision for 5G? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3 When Will 5G Transition from Vision to Reality? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4 5G Access Network and User Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5 Key Technologies Needed to Make 5G a Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

6 Implications for 5G RF Front-End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

7 5G Filter Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

8 Resonant ISN: Addressing 5G Design Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Appendix A: Mobile RF Front-End Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

TOC
Executive Summary
The next generation of wireless technology,
5G, is still in the early stages of definition,
but is receiving increased visibility, as the
number of wireless-enable devices expands
from mobile phones to mission-critical
devices and the emerging Internet of Things
(IoT). Carriers and manufacturers envision
5G as a standard that continues to advance
data speeds for mobile video and fixed-
wireless devices, while also providing
connectivity for the massive number of
IoT devices – two very different network
demands. No matter how 5G will ultimately
be implemented, higher data-rates, more
capacity and many more connected
“things” will be parts of the wireless future.
The emerging definition of 5G envisions
dramatic performance improvements in
network capacity, mobile connections,
latency, cost, data rates and coverage.
The transition from 4G to 5G will be very
different from prior transitions. 4G represents
the first global wireless standard and wire-
less carriers have only recently invested
considerable capital to acquire spectrum
and build out and support their 4G net-
works. On the other hand, the continuing
evolution of the wireless environment will
force carriers and device manufacturers
to “push the envelope” and deploy 5G
technologies as quickly as they become
viable. For the forseeable future however,
4G will serve as the dominant network
technology, with 5G serving as supplemen-
tary service.
The 5G Radio Access Network will be a
combination of technologies, nodes and
frequencies. Densification of the network
will require new models that make deploy-
ment economically viable; dynamic and
adaptable allocation of resources to max-
imize performance, increasing automated
software control; multiple and dynamic
use of different modulation schemes;
and device-to-device communication
facilitating network capacity off-load.
®
5G devices will exist in an environment that The emerging
includes more complexity, more components definition of 5G
(particularly filters), more performance envisions dramatic
demands, smaller size and lower cost performance
improvements in
components, and dual connectivity
network capacity,
between cellular and WiFi networks. More
mobile connections,
bandwidth will be needed (>6GHz), which latency, cost, data
will require higher frequency components, rates and coverage.
more carrier aggregation (CA), more com-
plex multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO)
antennas, new and adaptable waveforms,
and improved interference mitigation.
5G RF front-end designs for all wireless-
enabled products will be driven by cost,
power efficiency and available space
within the unit. They will need to be small,
highly efficient, and able to be manufac-
tured in large quantities to meet fast-growing
global demand. The requirements for 5G
filters will include complex multiplexing,
increasing integration, more filters, and
the capability to handle much higher
frequencies than are currently in use.
Resonant has developed a comprehensive
Electronic Design Automation (EDA) RF
design platform, Infinite Synthesized
Networks (ISN), initially focused on acoustic
wave filter design, which is a key absent
design block for the RF front-end. ISN is
specifically intended to solve many of the 5G
challenges that will face design engineers:
speed, flexibility and tools that drive down
system cost. ISN brings together modern
filter theory, finite element modeling (both
electro-magnetic and acoustic), and
novel optimization algorithms, enabling
engineers to design and test filters before
a design is committed to mass production.
Testing has proven that ISN’s models are
extremely accurate and reflect physical
details of the filter structures, matching the
measured performance of manufactured
filters, not only in loss and isolation but also
in power handling and linearity. Thus, ISN
is an ideal platform for quickly, efficiently
and cost-effectively scaling filter design to
meet emerging 5G demand.
What is the Vision for 5G?
Despite the best efforts of the standards
bodies, the definition of each mobile
telecom generation is generally determined
by the marketing needs of major global
carriers and network suppliers. For instance,
much-hyped improvements such as LTE
and LTE-Advanced are commonly classified
as 4G, even though they do not meet the
basic throughput requirements orginally
defined by the International Telecommuni-
cations Union (ITU). Thus, each new mobile
®
network advancement refers largely
to significant improvements to the user
experience, rather than adhering rigidly
to specified performance standards.
For example, the transition from 1G to
2G defined the transition from analog to
digital; the transition from voice to data
dominance is called 3G; and 4G refers to
much higher data throughput rates than
prior generations.
FIGURE 1
Progression in wireless
technologies from 1G
to 5G1
1
“Understanding 5G”,
White Paper, Anritsu
The emerging definition of 5G envisions
dramatic performance improvements in
network capacity, mobile connections,
latency, cost, data rates and coverage.
As with every new generation of mobile
technology, the performance targets are
ambitious – some would say impossible
– since they are driven as much by user
demands as by the pace of technological
change. Carriers and device manufacturers
want to offer service and equipment as
soon as possible that satisfies user demands
for higher data rates for HD video, ex-
tremely low power consumption for long
battery life, and extreme reliability for
industrial applications.
In many ways, the drivers for 5G are con-
flicting: increased data rates and capacity
for a richer visual experience (for use cases
including HD video, augmented reality (AR)
and virtual reality (VR)), but also ultra-high
reliability, low device cost and a massive
increase in the number of connected
devices (including the ubiquitous Internet
of Things, as well as smart cars, smart cities
and smart homes).
®
The conflicting demands driving the
development of a standard that will be
known as 5G include:
• Greater network capacity: The demand
for wireless capacity and connectivity
for mobile devices and the emerging
Internet of Things (IoT) is growing at an
astronomical rate. By 2021, analysts
forecast that there will be 26 billion
devices transmitting data over wireless
networks, or 1.5 devices for every per-
son on earth 3, and that by 2020, mobile
data traffic will reach 30 exabytes—or
30 million gigabytes—per month, an
eight-fold increase from 2015 levels.4
FIGURE 2
5G: Service, use case
and requirements 2.
In addition, maximum data rates per
device are expected to increase from
~100MB/s today to 10GB/s by 2020.
2
“5G for Mission Critical
Communications”,
White Paper, Nokia,
• Better coverage: As new devices come 2016
into service, users expect them to work
anytime and anywhere, especially for 3
Ericsson Mobility
bandwidth-intensive purposes such Report, June 2016
as gaming and streaming videos. As 4
Cisco VNI Global
higher data rates take hold, carriers Mobile Data Traffic
will be forced to add network capacity Forecast, 2015-2020
 simply to ensure that users can actually
experience the improved service.
• Improved latency: Users are already
frustrated by latency issues that slow
their experience. As wireless devices
become more and more central to a
wide range of daily activities, users are
becoming less willing to accept such
delays.
• Improved battery life: Application-inten-
sive use-cases drain the battery quickly,
creating demand for long-life, fast-
charging power sources; some machine-
to-machine applications draw minimal
power at any one time, and thus
require very long life batteries that will
provide uninterrupted power for 10
years or longer.
Capacity
Wireless spectrum bandwidth is a finite
resource. So in order to meet burgeoning
user demands, networks require more
spectrum bandwidth, local to the user,
and the networks need to be flexible
enough to efficiently deploy the extra
bandwidth.
The general consensus is that 5G capacity
will be defined as:
• 10Gb/s data rate for static users
• 1Gb/s data rate for low mobility users
• 100Mb/s, minimum, in urban areas
If these goals are indeed met, 5G networks
will have 10,000 times the capacity of
current networks.
Coverage
As with previous generational technology
upgrades, along with increased capacity
requirements comes increasingly ubiquitous
®
coverage. There is no point in having local
areas with very high data rates if the
wireless link is continually dropped due to
poor coverage. Wireless technologies are
limited in their reach from an antenna,
based upon propagation over the air, and
through obstacles and walls. Because most
of the low-frequency spectrum (which has
better propagation characteristics, and
can penetrate further) is already allocated,
the additional capacity for 5G will have to
come from the higher frequency spectrum
above 6GHz and potentially up to 300GHz.
However, these high frequencies present
a significant coverage challenge as signal
strength drops off rapidly with distance
from the radiating node.
To work, the 5G network will need many
more radiation points, where resources can
be allocated dynamically based upon
user needs. This will create a heteroge-
neous network, combining low frequency,
tall antenna macro cell sites for large area
coverage with high frequency, and local
points of presence (small cells).
Latency
Coverage and capacity continue to drive
the traditional wireless user experience.
However, for 5G, new user types are
defining new requirements, which include
real-time interactive applications and
machine-to-machine interactions. Real-
time interactive applications, such as
augmented reality and multi-user games,
require extremely low latency.
The 5G target for latency is less than 1msec,
which is an exceptionally aggressive target
for a cloud service with communication
between the access network, core
network, servers and the wireless device.
To put that in context, consider that current
average LTE latencies in the U.S. are
70-85msec.

Battery Life
Improving battery life for consumer mobile
devices is very high on the list of priorities
for device manufacturers, but they have
not yet commercialized batteries that can
keep up with the needs of power-intensive
applications such as video recording and
streaming. On the other hand, some
machine-to-machine use cases generally
involve low-power applications and min-
imal bandwidth, but require long battery
life (in some cases, greater than 10 years).
This will necessitate extended “sleep”
periods for the radios, as well as minimizing
any processing, plus ensuring extreme
reliability. In both cases, reducing the pow-
er demands of components such as RF
antennas and filters will help improve
battery life for these disparate use cases.
Range of Devices That Will
Connect to the 5G Network
As the network has grown in complexity,
so too have the types of devices that are
now being connected. Long gone are the
days when the majority of devices were
simply handheld phones. Current networks
are already straining under the demands
generated by these new devices, which
include:
2 IoT devices: Cost and power efficiency
are critical for IoT services. Many low-
cost IoT devices are expected to have
battery lives of 10 years or more, and
the initial applications will involve fixed
devices only. Mobility for IoT devices will
require increased signaling, low cost
and shorter battery life. Hence, mobility
may be a future service.
3 Next-generation mobile devices:
Smart phones will continue to grow in
complexity, and will be increasingly
controlled by the network, allowing
for re-configuring of the device and
optimizing of the user experience. A 5G
mobile broadband device will be
expected to leverage the advances in
4G, support multiple bands and modes,
aggregate multiple frequency bands,
and longer term, aggregate the higher
frequency bands available in 5G.

1 Mission-critical devices: Reliability of

the link is paramount for mission-critical
devices, such as those monitoring power
plants and other essential infrastructure.
Therefore, always-on connectivity to
multiple technologies and access
points will be needed to provide link
redundancy for dependable service.
In some cases, low latency will be
required, which may then use direct
device-to-device links in order to
circumvent the time delay associated
with transport through the network.

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When Will 5G Transition from Vision to Reality?
The schedule for any new generation goes
through three phases:
1 Definition of requirements and
identification of key technologies;
2 Standardization;
3 Demonstrations and trials.
This is followed by commercial deployments
(see figure 3).
4G to 5G Transition: Overlay or
Overhaul?
The transition from 4G to 5G will be very
different from prior transitions. 4G represents
the first global wireless standard and wire-
less carriers have only recently invested
considerable capital to acquire spectrum
and build out and support their 4G networks.
On the other hand, the evolution of the
wireless environment described above will
force carriers and device manufacturers
®
to “push the envelope” and deploy 5G
technologies as quickly as they become
viable. For instance, Verizon has already
announced 5G trials for fixed wireless
connections using 28GHz spectrum, with
the goal of having a 5G pilot running in
2017. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo has said
that Verizon’s initial vision for 5G is as a
fixed service – used as a broadband
replacement technology – and not a
mobile service. He has also said that LTE/4G
FIGURE 3
5G schedule 5.
will still be Verizon’s dominant network
technology for the foreseeable future, with
5G serving as a supplementary service.6
This is the likely scenario that will play out
for most wireless operators. A few, particu-
larly those looking for marketing exposure,
will push ahead with demonstrations to
show more advanced capabilities, such as 5
“Understanding 5G”,
during the upcoming Olympics in Japan White Paper, Anritsu
and S. Korea.
6
Verizon Q1 2016
Earning call
 FIGURE 4
Parallel development
of 4G and 5G to maxi-
mize their potential 7.

Thus, the most likely strategy for most global
networks will be to deploy 5G initially in
high frequency spectrum for “last mile”
high-speed access to homes and business
as an alternative to fiber. Then, 5G will be
added as a supplement to 4G for high-
speed, local connections for applications
requiring high-speed wireless broadband
access, such as HD video, and also for
low-power IoT applications (most likely
non-mobile). 4G macro sites will remain
the workhorse for coverage, but will (with
much higher data capacity) also provide
anchor points for small cell, machine-to- 7
“Providing the
machine and distributed antenna systems
Connectivity Fabric
– the systems that make up a heteroge- for Everything”
neous network (HetNet). presentation,
Qualcomm, May 2015

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5G Access Network and User Equipment
Radio Access Network (RAN)
The RAN for 5G will be a combination of
technologies, nodes and frequencies,
and this mix will result in one of the biggest
challenges for 5G deployment. Densifica-
tion of the network will require:
• New models that make deployment
economically viable: Planning for 5G
deployment will be extremely difficult,
and the large number of nodes will
make non-optimum sites the norm.
Increasingly, deployments will include
shared equipment between carriers.
• Dynamic and adaptable allocation of
resources to maximize performance,
increasing automated software control:
This will include interference coordina-
tion and capacity allocation, even in
unplanned and chaotic environments.
Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) will be
required for efficient spectrum usage.
Accurate channel state information will
be critical to the correct allocation of
resources.
®
FIGURE 5
5G mobile wireless
network architecture.
• Multiple and dynamic use of different
modulation schemes: The diversity of
use cases in 5G well beyond those
requiring high-speed data (4G) will be
the driver of a wide range of modulation
schemes.
• Device-to-device communication
facilitating network capacity off-load:
Network architecture will have to be
optimized to incorporate security,
off-load potential, privacy, use of the
network for acquisition and connection
maintenance, and additional UE
capability.
One of the key differentiators for 5G is the
many different use cases, which suggests a
set of network settings/functions, including
Radio Access Technologies (RAT) settings
for any particular use case – this is referred
to as a “5G slice.” The idea behind the
5G slice is that the overall environment is
maintained with only the necessary
functionality for each use case so as to
efficiently allocate available resources.
10
Given the technical challenges outlined
above, we can draw some conclusions
about end-user wireless devices, particularly
mobile broadband phones. These devices
will exist in an environment that includes
the following:
• More complexity
• More components, particularly MIMO
and CA filters
requirements. Thus, even though there
will be more components built into the
unit, they will have to be smaller and
cheaper
• Dual connectivity between cellular and
WiFi networks
• Higher frequency components (>6GHz)
will be introduced as these components
drop in size and cost

• More demands on performance – high A critical consequence of the increasing

isolation between bands, low insertion
loss (especially at band edges)
• Smaller size and lower cost – overall
phone size will not change significantly
nor will overall mobile device margin
complexity and additional components is
that the RF link itself will degrade, despite
improvements in the overall performance
of individual elements.

FIGURE 6
Key technology
development
schedule 8.

8
“RF Front Ends for
Mobile Devices”
Report, Mobile
Experts, May 2016

11

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Key Technologies Needed to Make 5G a Reality

In order to meet, or at least approach, paths. Although this technology has been
the challenging targets for 5G data rates, experimentally verified, significant advances
coverage and connections, new in processing and interoperability will be
technologies will be required. Identified required for wide-scale deployments.
technologies include:
Interference Mitigation: 5G demands use of
1 New frequencies, especially higher large spectrum bandwidths and massive
than 6GHz overlapping of cells, which will result in
both in-band and out-of-band interference.
2 Massive MIMO (Multiple Input/Multiple
In general, 3G and early deployments of
Output), resulting in high RF complexity
4G were limited in their performance due
at low cost
to incomplete coverage. Performance
3 Network densification & Interference within a cell was largely determined by
mitigation signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The extreme
densification of the network envisioned for
4 New and adaptable waveforms
5G will change the limitations from coverage
to interference, and performance will be
High Frequency Spectrum (>6GHz):
determined by the signal-to-interference
With almost all of the available spectrum
+ noise ratio (SINR). RF filters will play a
below 6GHz now allocated, carriers will
critical role in improving SINR. In 4G, cell
be forced to move to higher frequency
edge performance in urban environments
spectrum to secure bandwidth. However,
is dominated by co-channel interference
as the frequency increases, RF propagation
from overlapping cells. Electrical antenna
is reduced, and penetration into buildings
tilt can help, but inter-cell interference
suffers. Thus, the bandwidths available
coordination (ICIC) has been introduced
above 6GHz lend themselves to short range,
to reduce the impact on cell edge users.
point-to-point, line-of-site connections
ICIC uses different resource blocks for
(likely in-building). Traditional network
different users at the cell edge, which
planning becomes difficult, but a much
increases the effective re-use rate from
higher frequency, millimeter wave
1 to 3. eICIC (Enhanced ICIC) will be
(mmWave,or near mmWave, e.g. 28GHz)
required for 5G, where resource block allo-
mesh network could work in dense urban
cation will be dynamic in the time domain.
environments. While components are
This will be essential for heterogenous
generally smaller as frequency increases,
networks, where small cells are within the
reduced semiconductor performance at
macro footprint.
these higher frequencies will impact cost
and power consumption. New and Adaptable Waveforms: OFDMA
is the waveform used in 4G networks be-
Massive MIMO: MIMO is already used in
cause, by using sub-bands, the bandwidth
LTE and LTE-Advanced networks, where
is easily scalable, enabling higher data
multiple antennas are deployed either at
rates. However, OFDMA is susceptible to
the base station or mobile device (or both)
interference and procedures to allocate
to improve the link. However, massive
resources are inefficient for small (data or
MIMO is used in this context to leverage a
packet) payloads. Extensive investigation
large number of antennas in order to allow
of more efficient orthogonal as well as
spatial beamforming, so that the energy
non-orthogonal waveforms is underway
can be focused directly at the user’s
to identify candidates for 5G. RF filters will
device. Large increases in capacity are
play a critical role in OFDMA performance.
possible by generating multiple beam

12

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Implications for the 5G RF Front-End

In this section we focus on the implications As we move toward 5G, the complexity of Please see FIGURE 7
of 5G on the development of the RF front- the RF front-end continues to increase. For on next page.
end for mobile broadband devices. The instance, in addition to the main antenna
current state-of-the-art for a mobile path modules, diversity antennas provide
smartphone RF front-end separates the both link robustness and increased down-
frequency spectrum into low-band (698MHz- link data rates. Designers are increasingly
960MHz), mid-band (1710MHz-2200MHz) using receive diversity modules to process
and high band (2400MHz-3800MHz) the diversity path, comprised of receive
frequencies, which isolates the RF compo- (Rx) filters and switches (and increasingly
nents, minimizes cross-talk, and optimizes incorporating low-noise amplifiers - LNAs).
the entire power amplifier-filter-switch path. Wireless carriers demanding higher 5G
Although integration of components is data rates will drive more carrier aggrega-
logical, the increasing complexity of 5G tion, creating more potential interference.
limits the number of manufacturers that Consequently, the onus on RFFE designers
have the expertise to execute on such a moving forward will be to reduce com-
complex RF sub-system. plexity, reduce cost, while at the same
time improving performance. These
5G RF front-ends for all wireless-enabled represent a significant set of challenges
products will be driven by cost, power for RFFE design and manufacturing.
efficiency and available space within
the unit. They will need to be small, highly
efficient, and able to be manufactured in
large quantities to meet fast-growing global
demand. To commercialize affordable
custom parts for IoT devices in particular,
RF front-ends will need to be designed
with a minimum number of components,
and manufacturing volumes will have to
increase dramatically from current levels
to reduce per-unit cost. In the current en-
vironment, most IoT devices are being built
with low-cost parts originally developed
for high-volume mobile phone production.

13

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 FIGURE 7
Current state-of-the-
art RF front-end
architecture.

14

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5G Filter Requirements

The growth in the sheer number of filters, 2 Increasing integration: Overall RFFE
and the ever more demanding filtering performance is crucial. Maximizing PA
requirements, make RF filtering the critical efficiency on the uplink, and receiver
pain point of the RF front-end. Unlike the sensitivity on the downlink, will require
power amplifier, where a single device optimization of the entire RF chain. As
can be used for multiple frequency bands complexity increases, it will be crucial
and technologies, at the present time a to understand the RF chain and any
single filter is required for each individual interactions between elements. For
frequency band. example, consider the co-existence of
band 5 and band 12, and the intermod-
Although specific 5G requirements for ulation distortion (IMD) that can
filters will be developed in the future, the interfere with other frequency bands
basic outline for those requirements has (see table). Including IMD generation
already become clear. It includes: up to the seventh order, IMD products
will land in five FDD receive bands, four
1 Complex multiplexing: Carrier TDD bands, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and 5GHz Wi-Fi.
aggregation will drive more complex For filters, optimizing the interface to
multiplexing, which in turn drives more PA and LNA will also be required in the
complex designs. filter design process.

TABLE 1
Intermodulation CA 5-12 Intermodulation CA 5-17
F1_Low/F2_Low F1_Low/F2_High F1_High/F2_Low F1_High/F2_High F1_Low/F2_Low F1_Low/F2_High F1_High/F2_Low F1_High/F2_High Intermodulation
2nd IMD(a-b) 126 108 151 133 2nd IMD(a-b) 120 108 145 133 products from band 5/
2nd IMD(b-a) -126 -108 -151 -133 2nd IMD(b-a) -120 -108 -145 -133 band 12 and band 5/
2nd IMD(a+b) 1522 1611 1547 1565 2nd IMD(a+b) 1528 1540 1553 1565 band 17. Green for
3rd IMD (2-1) 950 932 1000 982 3rd IMD (2-1) 944 932 994 982
3rd IMD (1-2) 572 608 547 583 3rd IMD (1-2) 584 608 559 583 FDD RX. Red for 2.4GHz
3rd IMD (1+2) 2220 2256 2245 2281 3rd IMD (1+2) 2232 2256 2257 2281 Wi-Fi/BT. Blue for TDD.
3rd IMD (2+1) 2346 2364 2396 2414 3rd IMD (2+1) 2352 2364 2402 2414
Yellow for GPS. Orange
4th IMD (3-1) 1774 1756 1849 1831 4th IMD (3-1) 1768 1756 1843 1831
4th IMD (1-3) -1270 -1324 -1245 -1299 4th IMD (1-3) -1288 -1324 -1263 -1299 for 5GHz Wi-Fi.
4th IMD (1+3) 2918 2972 2943 2997 4th IMD (1+3) 2936 2972 2961 2997
4th IMD (3+1) 3170 3188 3245 3263 4th IMD (3+1) 3176 3188 3251 3263
4th IMD (2-2) 252 216 302 266 4th IMD (2-2) -584 -608 -559 -583
4th IMD (2+2) 3044 3080 3094 3130 4th IMD (2+2) 3056 3080 3106 3130
5th IMD (4-1) 2598 2580 2698 2680 5th IMD (4-1) 2592 2580 2692 2680
5th IMD (1-4) -1968 -2040 -1943 -2015 5th IMD (1-4) -1992 -2040 -1967 -2015
5th IMD (1+4) 3616 3688 3641 3713 5th IMD (1+4) 3640 3688 3665 3713
5th IMD (4+1) 3994 4012 4094 4112 5th IMD (4+1) 4000 4012 4100 7736
5th IMD (3-2) 1076 1040 1151 1115 5th IMD (3-2) 1064 1040 1139 1115
5th IMD (2-3) -446 -500 -396 -450 5th IMD (2-3) -464 -500 -414 -450
5th IMD (2+3) 3742 3796 3792 3846 5th IMD (2+3) 3760 3796 3810 3846
5th IMD (3+2) 3868 3904 3943 3979 5th IMD (3+2) 3880 3904 3955 3979
7th IMD (6-1) 4246 4264 4396 4378 7th IMD (6-1) 4240 4228 4390 4378
7th IMD (1-6) -3364 -3472 -3339 -3447 7th IMD (1-6) -3400 -3472 -3375 -3447
7th IMD (1+6) 5012 5120 5037 5145 7th IMD (1+6) 5048 5120 5073 5145
7th IMD (6+1) 5642 5660 5792 5810 7th IMD (6+1) 5648 5660 5798 5810
7th IMD (5-2) 2724 2688 2849 2813 7th IMD (5-2) 2712 2688 2837 2813
7th IMD (2-5) -1842 -1932 -1792 -1882 7th IMD (2-5) -1872 -1932 -1822 -1882
7th IMD (5+2) 5516 5552 5641 5677 7th IMD (5+2) 5528 5552 5653 5677
7th IMD (2+5) 5138 5228 5188 5278 7th IMD (2+5) 10556 5228 5218 5278
7th IMD (4-3) 1202 1148 1302 1248 7th IMD (4-3) 1184 1148 1284 1248
7th IMD (3-4) -320 -392 -245 -317 7th IMD (3-4) -344 -392 -269 -317
7th IMD (4+3) 5390 5444 5490 5544 7th IMD (4+3) 5408 5444 5508 5544
7th IMD (3+4) 5264 5336 5339 5411 7th IMD (3+4) 5288 5336 5363 5411

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3 Increasing number of filters: MIMO and
spectrum proliferation will continue to
grow and require more filters. Thus, the
size and cost of filters must continue to
decrease.
And as such, the requirements for
isolation and minimizing leakage into
the Rx path, and vice versa, grew. This
will only be further exacerbated by
high-power user equipment (HPUE),

FIGURE 8
Increase in the number
of filters required for
mobile Smartphones.

4 More demanding specifications: which uses more Tx power for improved

Isolation, loss and power handling
requirements continue to create new
challenges. Filters in the RF chain are a
major contributor to loss, which is critical
for total Tx efficiency (and ultimately
for the current draw for the PA and
battery life), and the total noise figure
in the Rx path (and ultimately for the
SNR and the data rate) LTE, which is
optimized for high-speed data,
demanded significantly higher power
than 3G protocols such as CDMA.
cell edge coverage. In addition, power
durability of progressively smaller filters
becomes a major concern.
5 Frequencies greater than 6GHz, and
frequencies of operation greater than
20GHz, will require different filter
technology than the current acoustic
wave filters used in mobile devices.
Significant advances will be needed to
reduce size and cost.

Total
4.6dB 0.55dB 0.45dB 0.75dB 1.8dB 0.25dB 0.65dB 0.15dB 0.25dB FIGURE 9
Tx path component
line-up with estimated
PA MN MN TX losses.
Traces Traces

SPnT RX
Band Load
SPnT
Switch
Antenna
Duplexer Switch

16

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In combination, all of the above clearly
shows that a 5G RFFE for mobile broadband
will be extremely complex and that the
goal for filter design will be to both simplify
the design process and the RFFE itself.
Innovation that minimizes and reduces
the complexity of components will be of
paramount importance, and tools enabling
this innovation will be critical to simplifying
the RFFE. Innovations that enable 5G RFFEs
will need to include a low-loss triplexer
®
(to minimize the number of antennas),
multi-mode, multi-band PAs, and recon-
figurable and multi-band filters (to reduce
the number of filters and switches), all of
which will need to be optimized as a
complete system to reduce matching
components.
In the Figure below, we envision a 5G RFFE
that minimizes size and cost while improving
performance and reducing complexity.
FIGURE 10
Proposed future RF
front-end architecture
for minimized size
and cost.
17
Resonant ISN: Addressing 5G Design Needs

Resonant has developed a comprehensive simultaneously and screened to maximize

filter Electronic Design Automation (EDA)
platform: Infinite Synthesized Networks
(ISN). Resonant’s ISN platform is analogous
to solutions used in integrated circuit
design, and brings together the following
elements:
• Modern filter theory
• Finite element modeling (both
electro-magnetic and acoustic)
• Novel optimization algorithms
the ultimate performance of the device.
Leveraging the expertise of filter design
engineers for an increasing number of more
complex designs can be achieved using
ISN. This will be critical as the RFFE migrates
to 5G in an environment where resources
are constrained by a tight labor market of
experienced design professionals.
Resonant’s ISN models are extremely
accurate and reflect physical details of

FIGURE 11

Chip Layout Package / ISN schematic,

Mask
Physical Design Module Layout Generation showing process flow
Physical Design from Initial design to
completed mask.

Filter Chip Design Integrated Filter

Specifications Filter Circuit Optimization Design Optimization
Computer Aided Engineering Computer Aided Engineering
Design Synthesis Synthesis
Process
Optimization Simulation Simulation
Parameters Optimization
Finite Element Model
Optimization
Finite Element Model

Yield Prediction
Data Analysis
Compliance Matrix & Verification Measured
Data
Temperature Behavior Add External Components
Compare

This platform enables filter design teams to
create novel filter structures that outperform
traditional filter designs, in a smaller foot-
print and using lower-cost technologies.
In addition, ISN’s grounding in fundamental
materials physics, while optimizing for high-
volume design screening, enables designs
that are unconstrained by traditional
acoustic wave filter design techniques.
Consequently, a designer using ISN can
create multiplexers, wide passbands and
high-power performance, and predict
manufacturing yields as well, before a
design is committed to mass production.
Thousands of designs can be developed
the filter structures, matching the measured
filter performance not only in loss and
isolation but also in power handling and
linearity. Figure 12 shows how closely ISN-
modeled performance tracks the actual
data measured on a Band 3 duplexer.
The accurate modeling of acoustic filters
using ISN enables the following:
• Reduced development time and cost:
Optimization is performed by the
computer and the designer, rather
than with expensive iterations in fab.

18

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• Solutions to challenging design prob-
lems: Empirical design techniques will
ultimately be limited in headroom as
more design parameters constrain the
problem. This is particularly true for
multiplexing and tunable filters. The
flexibility and accuracy of the ISN tool
suite is ideally suited for creating novel
solutions to these increasingly complex
requirements.
• Improved yield and lower cost of
• Design for multiple temperatures: The
ISN framework allows optimization over
multiple temperatures, optimizing
performance at the higher temperatures
that we can expect in a 5G RF module.
®
• Designs optimized for high-power
performance: LTE operates at higher
power than CDMA, requiring designs
that can withstand high power, at
elevated temperatures, for extended
periods of time. High bandwidth
applications for 5G will continue this
trend of higher power in order to
achieve the highest data rates possible.
production: Resonant models help
production engineers to create relevant
fabrication parameters for reducing
variability in the manufacturing process.
FIGURE 12
Measured (blue trace)
and modeled (green
trace) duplexer
performance.
19
Appendix A:
Mobile Device RF Front-End Performance

A mobile device RFFE can vary in In the case of the mobile device transmitter,
complexity from the simplest (Figure 13) the goal is to provide, as efficiently as
used in original cellphones, comprising one possible, the maximum signal strength from
antenna with duplexer, power amplifier the antenna without degrading neighbor-
(PA) and low-noise amplifier (LNA), to the ing frequencies. Because the maximum
much more complex, found in in modern power from the mobile device is limited,
smartphones (Figure 7). Each frequency this uplink is usually the limiting link for
band incorporated into the mobile device coverage. Typically, for every additional
requires separate filtering and amplification, 0.1dB loss, an additional 10mA is required
leading to multiple RF paths and an for the power amplifier, affecting battery
exponential increase in RF content. With life and talk time.
increasing complexity comes increasing
total BOM cost, board size and reduced For the best possible data throughput to
performance (Figure 14). the mobile receiver, the goal is to maximize
SINR from as many data streams as possible.
The effect of these substantial losses on Any loss before the LNA reduces the
the Rx and Tx paths have quite different maximum possible data rate.
consequences, but ultimately the effect is
that they degrade the SINR and increase
required power amplifier output power
FIGURE 13
that reduces battery life, thus reducing the
efficiency of data transfer from the mobile PA TX Simple cell phone
architecture found in
device to the RF node, and vice versa. It is
LNA RX the early phones.
immediately apparent from Figure 14 that RF and
the component contributing the most to Baseband
loss is the duplexer. However, the duplexer
is essential to minimizing added noise LNA RX
and interference from signals in other
frequency bands.
Total
4.6dB 0.55dB 0.45dB 0.75dB 1.8dB 0.25dB 0.65dB 0.15dB 0.25dB
Total FIGURE 14
4.6dB 0.55dB 0.45dB 0.75dB 1.8dB 0.25dB 0.65dB 0.15dB 0.25dB RFFE schematic,
PA MN MN TX showing the losses
Traces Traces
from the individual
components on
PA MN MN TX
SPnT Traces Traces receive (Rx) and
RX
Band Load transmit (Tx) paths.
SPnT
Switch Note that in the case
Antenna
SPnT Traces Duplexer
RX of the Rx path, this
Switch
Band Load
0.25dB SPnT will be duplicated
Switch
Antenna for each frequency
Traces Duplexer Switch
band supported in
0.25dB
LNA MN MN the mobile.

LNA MN MN

Total
4.6dB 0.3dB 0.4dB 0.25dB 0.25dB 2.1dB 0.25dB 0.65dB 0.15dB 0.25dB
Total
4.6dB 0.3dB 0.4dB 0.25dB 0.25dB 2.1dB 0.25dB 0.65dB 0.15dB 0.25dB

20

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Abbreviations

3GPP 3G Partnership Project mmW Millimeter wave

AR Augmented Reality MTM Machine to Machine

BOM Bill of Materials OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency-Division

BT Bluetooth
CA Carrier Aggregation
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CoMP Coordinated Multipoint
DL Downlink
EDA Electronic Design Automation
eICIC enhanced Inter-Cell Interference
Coordination
ET Envelope Tracking
FDD Frequency Division Duplex
GPS Global Positioning System
HB High-Band
HD High Definition
HPUE High Power User Equipment
ICIC Inter-Cell Interference
Coordination
IMD Inter-Modulation Distortion
IoT Internet of Things
Multiple Access
PA Power Amplifier
PAMiD Power Amplifier Module including
Duplexers
RAN Radio Access Network
RAT Radio Access Technology
RF Radio Frequency
RFFE Radio Frequency Front-End
SINR Signal to Interference plus Noise
Ratio
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio
SOI Silicon on Insulator
TDD Time Division Duplex
UE User Equipment
UL Uplink
VR Virtual Reality
WRC World Radiocommunication
Conference

ISN Infinite Synthesized Networks

ITU International Telecommunication

Union

LB Low-Band

LNA Low Noise Amplifier

LTE Long Term Evolution

MB Mid-Band

MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output

21

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 R E S O N A N T
®
Resonant Inc.
110 Castilian Drive, Suite 100
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
(805) 308-9803